tronagirl: It's too bad that most attractive invasive plants require way too much water or can't take the heat. I'd like to give kudzu a chance, but it's probably illegal to even bring it into the state.

Curse of the TamariskDVNP is doing its best to rid the park of two kinds of tamarisks. Plenty of both can be found in Searles Valley and Panamint Valley.

Two types of tamarisk threaten Death Valley’s precious, native wetlands; saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) which are deciduous shrubs, and athel (Tamarix aphylla), an evergreen tree species. Both have scaly branches that resemble conifers, hence the name saltcedar. Only the saltcedar has feathery pink flowers that produce a mind-boggling number of seeds. These small, fluffy seeds can float on the wind which allows them to sprout at surrounding water sources. The athel’s seeds do not germinate and are not as invasive.

The worst invasion of the tamarisk that I've seen is at the mouth of Hunter Canyon. I think there are a few other species in there, some native and some non-native, but the mouth of the canyon is clogged with plant growth and it's nearly impossible to enter the canyon as a result. You have to hunt (no pun intended) around to find a trail that bypasses the mess! Hunter Canyon is just west of the DVNP boundary in Saline Valley, just in case you don't already know.

I'm not sure how you get rid of salt cedars. They spread prolifically and they have extremely deep roots. It would take years of persistently returning and digging up roots in order to eradicate them and even then a single tree could repopulate and area in a short amount of time. It's almost an impossible task to eradicate them, but who knows what scientists will come up with in the future.

When I first moved here I had bad problems with the roots from the salt cedars clogging up my sewer pipes but since I've started using root killer in my pipes every 6 months I've been able to coexist with them and their roots haven't been a problem. People don't like them because the salt they leave kills off other plants but they are pretty much the only thing left growing so I don't mind them. I think they are beautiful and I hate to see people cutting them down. Especially when they are the only plant left in their yard.

surfsteve: I agree that as residential plants they are much better than nothing, but I think the concern is that when they get into the wild that they displace native plants. But sure, around Trona they are nice, especially when they get big they can be really attractive trees.

CrustyOldFart: I agree that they CAN be really attractive when they get big, but salt cedars have a tendency to drop branches. I wouldn't let one grow close to my house and I wouldn't park a car beneath one. They aren't as stately as a mighty oak or anywhere as nice as a pine tree, but they are better than nothing and not what you'd call unattractive.

dzrtdwg: Mesquite trees aren't much better than salt cedars, but some are invasive and they show up all over the place in Trona and Ridgecrest. I'm not a fan of their thorns, but like salt cedars they are better than nothing.

CrustyOldFart wrote:surfsteve: I agree that as residential plants they are much better than nothing, but I think the concern is that when they get into the wild that they displace native plants. But sure, around Trona they are nice, especially when they get big they can be really attractive trees.

What native plants?

Anything that gets big will displace native plants. Even native plants. Have you looked around? There is nothing in the desert that grows any larger than creasote and that only grows a few feet.

Every time I see someone cut down a big cedar it saddens me. At the rate the vegetation is disappearing around here in a few years it's going to look like a scene right out of Road Warrior.